Advert Vacancy

We’ll complete N50bn bond repayment in June, says Bayelsa

The Bayelsa State Government has said it would complete repayment of the N50bn bond facility obtained by the former administration of Chief Timipre Sylva by June this year.

The Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr. Daniel Iworiso-Markson, said in Yenagoa that it was part of the major resolutions reached the State Executive Council meeting.

In a statement by the Special Adviser to the State Governor on Media Relations, Mr. Fidelis Soriwei, the Commissioner noted that, when completed, funds currently being used to service the bond would be channeled towards finishing key ongoing projects in the state.

Iworiso-Markson, who listed the priority projects to include the Sagbama-Ekeremor Road, Yenagoa-Oporoma Road, and Ayama/Ogbia-Okodi Road, said the government had already worked out funding modalities in its bid to expedite work on the projects.

According to the commissioner, the council reaffirmed the present administration’s resolve to bequeath legacies for successive governments to build on, for sustainable development of the state.

He said: “We are determined as a government to finish well and strong. Going by the resolutions reached in Council, it is clear that this government will leave no stone unturned to ensure that we deliver optimally to Bayelsans.

“Our resolve is that Bayelsans at the end of the day will judge this government by the footprint we’ve been able to establish. Everything we’ve done from day one to this moment is a testament to our resolve to leave a lasting legacy that even successive governments will follow.”

Expatiating on the funding modalities, the Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Maxwell Ebibai, noted the state government was expanding the “Contractor Infrastructure Development Finance Scheme,” a model which was used in financing other critical infrastructural projects in the state.

Under the scheme, he said contractors were empowered to borrow funds from financial institutions to execute projects and present their certificates of work done for government to pay.

Ebibai pointed out the model helped to check the issue of slow pace or outright abandonment in the execution of government projects.

He said: “The Contractor Infrastructure Development Scheme is essentially to ensure that contractors have unhindered access to funds. Under the scheme, the state does not borrow but the contractors may borrow to execute government jobs so that the projects will not slow down or stop.

“The state government only guarantees for payment for jobs already done.

“The state government only guarantees for payment for jobs already done.

“It is some kind of public-private partnership arrangement between the state, contractors, and banks. In this scheme, we are considering projects that we cannot manage from our monthly cash flow.”